wanted his people to believe as they had always believed. But then he wanted to have their belief explained to them so that they should understand it better. Just before the Pilgrimage of Grace he had sent out such an explanation, and, as might be expected, the explanation was not quite the same as the pope would have given. The chief alteration, however, was in the matter of images. There were in all the churches images of saints, and figures of

Christ upon the cross. Before these the people

prayed. They were not intended to pray to the stone or wooden images, but only to be reminded by them of those whom they could not see. Ignorant people had, however, come to think of the image itself as something to be prayed to, and which could do them good. The king did not wish images. to be destroyed because prayers were offered before them, but he determined to destroy those which were said to perform miracles, because he thought this was done by trickery. When the tricks were found out, they were exhibited to the people and the image was burned. It would have been well if only images had been burnt. One poor man, Friar Forest, was declared to be a heretic because he said. that the king ought to be subject to the pope. He was placed in a cradle of chains hung upon a gallows. Underneath were the fragments of a great image which had been brought from Wales. Then Latimer, a brave honest man, who was afterwards to die a martyr's death, preached to him to convince him of his error. When the sermon was over he asked Forest whether he would live or die. I will die,'

said Forest, boldly. Do your worst upon me. Seven years ago you durst not, for your life, have preached such words as these; and now, if an angel from heaven should come down and teach me any other doctrine than that which I learnt as a child I would not believe him. Take me; cut me to pieces joint from joint. Burn, hang, do what you will, I will be true henceforth to my faith.' Light was set to the chips of the image beneath. Forest was swung over it, and the cruel flames ate his life away.

9. Henry's Tyranny.-Brave men there were on every side who were ready to die rather than say that the thing was true which they believed to be a lie. Since Wolsey's fall Henry had left the management of business in the hands of Thomas Cromwell. Cromwell wished to see England free from the pope, and to make his master all-powerful. He had no mercy nor pity. He covered the land with spies, who told him tales of all that was spoken against the king. No one could think himself safe. Heretics were burnt, and followers of the pope were hung. Nothing planned against him seemed to prosper. Noblemen formed plots against him, but their plots were detected, and they were brought to a traitor's death. One old lady, the Countess of Salisbury, refused to kneel down to place her head on the block. The executioner had to dash at her with his axe, and to cut off her head as she stood. It was a cruel time. At court, it was also a time when men spent money upon gaiety of every kind. Henry wanted money for his amusements, and for

the amusements of his friends. There was a phrase at court, a good pennyworth,' which needs explanation now. It meant that a man had received a large slice of abbey lands from the king and had paid nothing for it, or next to nothing. After a few years the good pennyworths seemed to be coming to an end. Then it was found out that the great monasteries might be dissolved as well as the small ones. Abbots sent in to the king confessions that they and all their monks were desperately wicked. Those who did so had their reward. At Canterbury the chief monks confessed themselves to have been guilty of the most abominable crimes. They gave up the abbey to the king. The king took the lands and gave to these miserable sinners good places as dean and canons in the cathedral. No doubt the abominable crimes never had any real existence. Not all the money thus got went to satisfy the greedy courtiers and the gaping gulf of the gambling table. Some of it went to found new cathedrals, and some to build ships and forts. But a large part

of it was squandered.

10. The Six Articles.-Henry had tried hard to make people believe as he thought they ought to believe. It was every day becoming more impossible. The Protestants grew in number, though they were still only a few in comparison with the rest of the people. Very often they were insolent. One Protestant went into a church and held up a dog when the priest held up the sacrament. Henry tried to keep them quiet. A law known as the Statute of the Six Articles was passed, ordering the death of

those who openly defended Protestant doctrines. But it was impossible to prevent men from thinking. The kingdom of Heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which indeed is the least of all seeds, but when it is grown it is the greatest among herbs. The axe and the stake would not stop the growth of the new faith. Henry was popular. He was hearty and jovial, and what he wanted was very much what most people in England wanted. But those who wished to find a religion which might strengthen their souls could not pin their faith to Henry. One set of men clung to the pope. Another set of men read their Bibles, and sent up the prayer of their hearts to Christ in heaven, whatever pope or king might say. No doubt there were many who called themselves Protestants who were not at all what they should be, who looked down on their neighbours and were quite as ready to be cruel, if they had the chance, as the king was. But there were others who were holy and pure and peaceful. Whatever the king might do, they were growing in numbers and in power.

The

11. The last Years of Henry VIII.--At the time of the passing of the Statute of the Six Articles, another statute was passed completing the destruction of the monasteries. Then Cromwell fell. king thought of marrying again, and Cromwell, who wanted to make friends of the German princes, advised him to marry a German lady, Anne of Cleves. Unluckily for Cromwell, he forgot to consider that the king was not likely to be pleased with a wife. who was not good looking. The new queen was

plain and stout. Henry easily found an excuse to divorce her. Anne of Cleves, unlike Catharine of Aragon, took her divorce quietly, and Henry gave her a good pension, on which she lived comfortably for many years. He was savagely angry with Cromwell.

As everybody hated Cromwell, the moment that it was known that Henry was tired of him he was accused of treason. A bill was brought into parliament to direct that his head should be cut off. The House refused to listen to anything that he might have to say in his own defence, and his tyranny